Method and article for fastening socks together

ABSTRACT

A sock fastener includes a band of tape fastener which can be secured in a loop around a pair of socks to hold the matching sock mates together during laundering. The tape includes hooks thereon facing inwardly of the loop and engaging the socks. The tape is secured in the loop by a piece of tape fastener having loops thereon engaging the hooks.

United States Patent Klotz et al.

[54] METHOD AND ARTICLE FOR FASTENING SOCKS TOGETHER.

Inventors: Theodore Klotz, 156 Oak Tree Road; Howard R. Messner, 85Campbell Ave., both of Tappan, NY. 10983 Filed: Dec. 16, 1970 Appl. No.:98,678

US. Cl ..24/16, 248/250 R, 211/113, 24/204, 24/81 Int. Cl. ..B65d 63/00,A44b 17/00 24/81 CC, 81 AA, 81 A, 81 AG, 17 A, 325; 248/205; 206/56 DF,80, DIG. 18; 211/60, 113; 2/DIG. 6, 338; 223/85, 87; l28/DIG. 15,169,17D, 171

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,501,774 3/1970 Norman..Z/DIG. 6

Field of Search ..24/DIG. 18, 16 PB, 204, DIG.

[ 1 Sept. 5, 1972 Marcum ..24/204 Munz ..26/DIG. l8 Hochman ..24/81 DWallach ..24/16 PB De Mestral ..24/204 Wheeler ..24/204 Fox ..2/DIG. 6

Primary Examiner-Bemard A. Gelak Att0rney-Brumbaugh, Graves, Donohue &Raymond ABSTRACT A sock fastener includes a band of tape fastener whichcan be secured in a loop around a pair of socks to hold the matchingsock mates together during laundering. The tape includes hooks thereonfacing inwardly of the loop and engaging the socks. The tape is securedin the loop by a piece of tape fastener having loops thereon engagingthe hooks.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures METHOD AND ARTICLE FOR FASTENING SOCKSTOGETR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a methodand means for holding articles of clothing together during launderingand more particularly to a method and means for holding socks insegregated pairs during laundering to prevent loss of sock-mates andeliminate the task of sorting through the laundry to find matchingsocks.

Since the advent of the automatic washing machine and the so-calledpermanent press fabrics, the burden of washing the familys laundry hasbeen considerably reduced. At present, the task which consumes thegreatest proportion of the time on washday is sorting and folding thelaundry after it has been washed and dried. Particularly in families ofmany children, the task of sorting and redistributing socks consumes adisproportionate share of the washday time.

Several attempts have been made in the past to relieve the busyhousewife of this chore. These prior art efforts generally specify analteration to the socks themselves. For example, it has been suggestedthat fasteners such as snaps or hooks and eyes be stitched to each sockby which one sock may be fastened to its mate. It has also beensuggested that a loop of thread be stitched to each sock to provide ameans of attachment by which the socks could be connected together.

The failure of these prior art solutions to find any substantialacceptance among the general public bears witness to theirimpracticality. Specifically, the wearer of the socks is reluctant totolerate bulky unsightly and uncomfortable fasteners sewn to his socks,and the inconvenience of sewing a fastener to each sock or the addedexpense of buying a pair of socks with fasteners sewn thereto makes theconcept equally unattractive to the family provider.

More importantly, however, the use of the prior art sock-holder resultsin accelerated wear of the socks. The agitation in the washing machineis very vigorous and invariably results in strong forces acting on thearticles in the wash load tending to separate and twist them apart.These forces are transmitted between the socks, connected together bythe prior art sock holders, at a single point or points, resulting ingreat stress at those points which causes the socks to rip or be grosslystretched out of shape.

There has, therefore, long been a need for a sock holder that requiresno alterations to the socks themselves, and permits the socks to bethoroughly cleaned while being securely, though gently, held insegregated pairs such that no damage is incurred thereby duringagitation in the washing machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this inventionto provide a method and an article for obviating the task of manuallysorting and matching laundry.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article forholding matching pairs of socks together during laundering and drying.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method and an articlefor holding the socks of each member of a family together in matchingpairs to eliminate the task of sorting and facilitate redistribution ofthe clean laundry to the family members.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing amethod of holding socks together during laundering which includeswrapping a band of tape fastener loosely around a pair of socks andsecuring the band in a closed loop so the band gently grips the socksand prevents their axial translation out of the loop.

An article is provided for practicing the method including atape-fastener which can be wrapped around a pair of matching socks andfastened in a loop of adjustable diameter to secure the socks togetherduring laundering and drying and thereby eliminate the task of sortingafter laundering.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of theinvention and its many attendant advantages will develop as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when read in connection with the following drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation showing one embodiment of theinvention holding a pair of socks;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 holding a pair ofsocks together;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation showing a second embodiment of theinvention holding five pairs of socks;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 3showing in more detail the patches secured at one end to the band andholding one pair of socks, partially broken away;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional elevation of the same third embodiment shownin FIG. 3, but here shown in use hanging on a hook and holding fivepairs of socks; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional elevation of a fourth embodiment of theinvention in use holding four pairs of socks.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,wherein like reference characters designate identical or correspondingparts and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, one embodiment of theinvention is shown having a band 10 of tape fastener, such as that soldunder the trademark VELCRO, fastened together in a loop by a shortfastening patch 12 of tape fastener of the opposite gender. Tapefasteners are a recently developed form of fastener having wide andgrowing popularity as fastening straps as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No.3,000,384, and as clothing fasteners. They use two mating strips offabric tape, one of which, hereinafter referred to as the hook gendertape, has an operative surface bristling with a multitude of small,upstanding monofilament hooks and the other, hereinafter referred to asthe loop gender tape has an operative surface faced with a napped pileof fine threads. When the two tapes are brought together, the hooksembed themselves in the pile, engaging the loops of thread to provide afastener capable of withstanding shear forces as great as 20 pounds persquare inch, yet the tapes separate easily when peeled apart. Moreover,they can be subjected to opening-closing cycles repeatedly without lossof strength or sign of wear. A more thorough exposition of thestructure, manufacture, and use of tape fasteners is found in US. Pat.No. 3,009,235.

The article is easily assembled as a unit from a fastening patch 22 ofloop gender tape fastener, about 1 inch long and five-eighth inch wide,and a longer band of hook gender tape fastener, about 3 inch long, bypressing the operative surface of fastening patch 12 on the end of theband 10 so that one half the length of patch 12 overlaps the end of theband 10. The matching members 140 and 14b of a pair of socks are laidalongside one another and the band is wrapped therearound in a loop toencircle the socks approximately midway along the length thereof, asillustrated in FIG. 2, by placing the back of the patch 12 against thesocks, wrapping the band around them, and pressing the free end of theband 10 against the overlapping, outwardly facing portion of thefastening patch 12. A continuous loop or ring is thus formed around thesocks to securely hold them together during laundermg.

It was expected that the band would have to be wrapped tightly aroundthe pair of socks to prevent their becoming loose during agitation inthe washing machine and therefore that the portion of the socks withinthe tight encircling band would not be properly washed. However, it wasunexpectedly found that when the band is wrapped, as illustrated inFIGS. I and 2, loosely around the pair of socks with the hooks of band10 facing inwardly of the loop, that the band could be very loosewithout the socks becoming disengaged from the loop. The band need bejust tight enough to achieve continuous contact between its insidecircumference and the socks so that the small hooks of the band gentlyengage the fabric of the socks and securely hold them against axialtranslation out of the loop. Thus the socks remain securely held inpairs throughout the washing cycle and all portions of the socks arethoroughly cleaned.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention including a long band16 of hook gender tape fastener having formed on one end thereof an eye18 by which it is hung or suspended from a support such as a hook 20. Aplurality of patches 22 of loop gender tape fastener are stuck to theband 16 at intervals therealong. Patches 22 may be separate from band 16or they may be permanently joined to band 16 at one end 23 of the patchas more clearly illustrated in FIG. 4.

In use, each member of the family hangs a band 16 in a convenientlocation, such as his closet, by means of hook 20. As he removes hissocks in the evening, instead of throwing them in the laundry hamper heforms a loop in the band 16 and encircles the pair of socks within theloop. The ends of the loop are then secured around the pair of socks bymeans of fastening patch 22. The next day the next pair of socks issimilarly attached to band 16 adjacent and below the first pair by meansof another patch 22. At the end of the week the band will hold an entireweeks worth of the family members socks in a neatly pre-sorted unit.These bands are then laundered and dried as individual units andthereafter redistributed to the family member in the same form, alreadyneatly sorted and ready for return to the bureau drawer. The time spentsorting and distributing socks to the members of a large family isthereby greatly reduced. In extremely large families the tapes could bemarked with the name of the family member or could be color coded.

Another embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, isformed as an integral unit having a band 24 formed of a fabric material,such as nylon, on which are formed or attached at intervals therealongseveral pairs of squares or patches of tape fastener of alternatinggender. The top pair consists of a patch 26 of hook gender tape fasteneradjacent a patch 28 of loop gender tape fastener. The next pair isdisposed a suitable distance along band 24 and consists of a similarpair of patches 30 and 32. This arrangement is repeated for the fulllength of the band which may extend one to three feet.

In use, the eye 18 of the band 24 is hung on a hook 20 in the familymembers closet as shown in FIG. 6, in a mode of use similar to that ofthe embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4. The soiled pair of socks is placedbetween adjacent patches 26 and 28 and the portions of the band 24 oneither side of the socks are brought up around the socks and secured ina loop therearound by pressing patches 26 and 28 together. The use ofthis embodiment of the invention is otherwise identical to that of FIG.3.

The fourth embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 7 uses twocontinuous bands of tape fastener 34 and 36 of opposite gender connectedtogether at their lower ends. The upper ends of the bands are strungthrough a pair of spaced eyelets screwed into the lower surface of acloset shelf or the like, and hand down loosely therefrom. The pairs ofsoiled socks are then placed at the junction of the two bands and a loop42 is formed around the pair by pressing the bands together on the topside of the pair. The next day, the next pair of soiled socks issimilarly secured between the bands in similar manner at a spacedlocation above the first pair of socks. At the end of the week, bands 34and 36 will be secured together along their entire length, holdingbetween them the family members socks in a single convenient unit forwashing. After washing and drying, the clean socks are returned in thesame unit to the family member for return to his bureau drawer.

All four embodiments securely hold the sock pairs within their loops bymeans of the gentle engagement of the tape fastener hooks with thefabric of the socks and therefore permit a loose loop to be used whichassures thorough cleaning of the material within the encircling band.There is no danger that exposed hooks could snag other delicate laundryin the wash because in all embodiments the hooks are either engaged withthe tape fastener loops or are facing inwardly of the loop or ring andengaging the socks. In FIG. 3 the patches 22 holding the loops togetheraround the socks have their ends spaced for clarity of illustration, butin actual use the patches would be made larger so the ends of patches 22would be adjacent one another, as illustrated in FIG, 4, and all hooksin the band 16 would be covered by the patches 22. In the embodiment ofFIG. 7 all hooks of band 34 are covered by band 36 since both bands areof the same length. There is therefore, no danger of exposed hookssnagging delicate fabric in the washload or becoming engaged with otherbands to become tangled in a knot.

Obviously numerous variations and modifications of the above describedspecies will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of thisdisclosure and prior art. For example, in FIG. l the patches 22 may bereversed and adhered to band 16 at end 23 with the operative mappedsurface facing outwardly and with the free end extending upwardlyinstead of downwardly as illustrated. In use, the free end of patch 22,normally not stuck to the hooks of band 16, would be doubled overbackward to contact and hold the portion of band 16 constituting the endof the loop to form the closed loop. It is contemplated, therefore, thatthe invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically describedherein while remaining within the scope of the appended claims whichdefine the invention.

1 claim:

1. A method of holding socks together during laundering, comprising:

arranging a pair of socks in matching sock mates;

loosely encircling said pair of socks with a band of tape fastenerhaving hooks substantially covering one face thereof, with said banddisposed around said socks with said hooks facing inwardly of said loopand gently engaging said socks around substantially the entire interiorcircumference of said loop to prevent axial translation thereof out ofsaid loop; and

securing said band in a loose closed loop around said pair of socks witha piece of tape fastener having loops substantially covering one facethereof by engaging a portion of said hooks of said band of tapefastener with a portion of said loops of said piece of tape fastener.

2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein: said piece of tape fastenercomprises a short patch of said piece of tape fastener separate fromsaid band and havin g a length approximately one third the lengththereof.

3. The method defined in claim 1, further comprisll'l laying a secondpair of said socks together;

loosely wrapping a portion of said band adjacent to said first wrappedpair of socks around said second pair of socks;

securing said portion of said band around said socks with a second pieceof tape fastener to form a second loose encircling loop around saidsecond pair of socks to hold them together; and

repeating said laying, wrapping, and securing steps for as many pairs ofsocks as said band will hold.

4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein:

said wrapping step comprises completely encircling said socks with saidband to form a closed loop; and

said securing step comprises pressing a piece of tape fastener againstthe adjacent ends of said closed loop and disposing the end of saidpiece adjacent la in a air of soiled ma chin sock matest ether; wi apraing portions of said ba nd around said soiled sock mates with the hooksof said band facing inwardly toward said socks;

securing said portions of said band around said mates with a piece ofloop gender tape fastener to form a loose encircling loop around saidmates and in continuous contact therewith around the entire insidecircumference of said loop;

repeating said laying, wrapping and securing steps until said band holdsas many pairs of said matching socks as desired;

washing said band along with its load of pre-sorted matched socks in awashing machine; and

drying said band along with its load of matched socks.

6. An article for holding socks together in pairs during washing anddrying, comprising:

fabric means for forming a loop loosely encircling said socks;

means for securing the ends of said loop together to form a closed ringaround said socks;

hook means connected to said fabric means around substantially theentire interior surface of said loop for cooperating with said securingmeans and for gently holding said socks within said loop against axialtranslation therefrom, said hook means comprising a multitude of minutehooks projecting from said fabric means inwardly of said loop, and

a multitude of minute loops projecting from said securing means forreleasably engaging said hooks on said fabric means to effect saidsecuring of said loop ends.

7. The article defined in claim 6, further comprising: means at one endof said fabric means defining a hook eye whereby said article may besuspended from a hook.

8. The article defined in claim 7, wherein said fabric means comprises aband between one and three feet in length, and said securing meanscomprises a plurality of separate fastening patches connected at one endthereof to said band of intervals therealong to form a plurality ofseparate loops.

9. The article defined in claim 8, wherein said patches completely coversaid band to preclude said hooks from snagging delicate fabrics in thewash load.

1. A method of holding socks together during laundering, comprising:arranging a pair of socks in matching sock mates; loosely encirclingsaid pair of socks with a band of tape fastener having hookssubstantially covering one face thereof, with said band disposed aroundsaid socks with said hooks facing inwardly of said loop and gentlyengaging said socks around substantially the entire interiorcircumference of said loop to prevent axial translation thereof out ofsaid loop; and securing said band in a loose closed loop around saidpair of socks with a piece of tape fastener having loops substantiallycovering one face thereof by engaging a portion of said hooks of saidband of tape fastener with a portion of said loops of said piece of tapefastener.
 2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein: said piece of tapefastener comprises a short patch of said piece of tape fastener separatefrom said band and having a lengtH approximately one third the lengththereof.
 3. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising: laying asecond pair of said socks together; loosely wrapping a portion of saidband adjacent to said first wrapped pair of socks around said secondpair of socks; securing said portion of said band around said socks witha second piece of tape fastener to form a second loose encircling looparound said second pair of socks to hold them together; and repeatingsaid laying, wrapping, and securing steps for as many pairs of socks assaid band will hold.
 4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein: saidwrapping step comprises completely encircling said socks with said bandto form a closed loop; and said securing step comprises pressing a pieceof tape fastener against the adjacent ends of said closed loop anddisposing the end of said piece adjacent and contiguous to the ends ofthe next adjacent piece, whereby the hooks of said band will becompletely covered along the entire length thereof with said socks andsaid pieces.
 5. A method of holding matching sock mates together inpairs during washing and drying, comprising: hanging an elongate band ofhook gender tape fastener in an easily accessible location; laying apair of soiled matching sock mates together; wrapping portions of saidband around said soiled sock mates with the hooks of said band facinginwardly toward said socks; securing said portions of said band aroundsaid mates with a piece of loop gender tape fastener to form a looseencircling loop around said mates and in continuous contact therewitharound the entire inside circumference of said loop; repeating saidlaying, wrapping and securing steps until said band holds as many pairsof said matching socks as desired; washing said band along with its loadof pre-sorted matched socks in a washing machine; and drying said bandalong with its load of matched socks.
 6. An article for holding sockstogether in pairs during washing and drying, comprising: fabric meansfor forming a loop loosely encircling said socks; means for securing theends of said loop together to form a closed ring around said socks; hookmeans connected to said fabric means around substantially the entireinterior surface of said loop for cooperating with said securing meansand for gently holding said socks within said loop against axialtranslation therefrom, said hook means comprising a multitude of minutehooks projecting from said fabric means inwardly of said loop, and amultitude of minute loops projecting from said securing means forreleasably engaging said hooks on said fabric means to effect saidsecuring of said loop ends.
 7. The article defined in claim 6, furthercomprising: means at one end of said fabric means defining a hook eyewhereby said article may be suspended from a hook.
 8. The articledefined in claim 7, wherein said fabric means comprises a band betweenone and three feet in length, and said securing means comprises aplurality of separate fastening patches connected at one end thereof tosaid band of intervals therealong to form a plurality of separate loops.9. The article defined in claim 8, wherein said patches completely coversaid band to preclude said hooks from snagging delicate fabrics in thewash load.